FReeper Canteen ~ Road Trip: Camp Parks, California ~ 07 MAY 2024

Serving The Best Troops And Veterans In The World!! | The Canteen Crew

[laurenmarlowe]

 

 

~The FReeper Canteen Presents~

Road Trip: Parks Reserve Forces Training Area, California

Parks Reserve Forces Training Area (PRFTA), commonly known as Camp Parks, is a United States Army facility located in Dublin, California that is currently an active mobilization and training center for U.S. Army Reserve personnel to be used in case of war or natural disaster.

Soon after the creation of the Seabees at the beginning of World War II, the U.S. Navy built a West Coast replacement and recuperation center for Naval Construction Battalions returning from overseas. Camp Parks was established on November 26, 1942, having been named in honor of Rear Admiral Charles W. Parks, Civil Engineer Corps (CEC), the World War I chief of the Bureau of Yards and Docks.

Adjacent to Camp Parks to the east, was Camp Shoemaker and the U.S. Naval Hospital Shoemaker, also built during the war. The three Navy bases located side by side were called "Fleet City".

In 1946, at the end of World War II, the United States Secretary of the Navy disestablished the three facilities, and from 1946 to 1951, the Navy leased much of the land to the County of Alameda for use as Santa Rita Jail. Thousands of Quonset huts and barracks and other buildings were subsequently dismantled through sales conducted by the War Assets Administration.

Camp Parks sat unused until the U.S. Air Force established it as a basic training center in 1951 during the Korean War, and renamed the facility Parks Air Force Base. The Air Force almost completely rebuilt the base. Base personnel were initially housed in temporary facilities and ate from a field mess.

The first group of airmen arrived at Camp Parks in the Summer of 1951, and mass training began in March 1952 as the 3275th Air Indoctrination Wing. In 1953, Air Base Defense classes started as the Air Force transitioned the base defense mission from the Army.

Parks has a primary mission of exercising the functions of command, training, security, administration, servicing and supply to all troop units, military activities and other governmental agencies assigned or attached.

New and state-of-the-art training facilities have been built and more are planned. In the garrison area are administrative and classroom buildings, upgraded housing, a remodeled dining facility, a modern lodging facility, an informative history center, and other support and training facilities.

Parks RFTA is the only local training facility for more than 11,000 Army Reserve Soldiers in the San Francisco Bay Area where a wide variety of training facilities are available. Reserve Units permanently stationed at Parks RFTA conduct weekend inactive duty training throughout the year, and Reserve Component units travel to the base for their two-week annual training.

Learn More About Camp Parks HERE!!

FR CANTEEN MISSION STATEMENT~Showing support and boosting the morale of our military and our allies military and the family members of the above. Honoring those who have served before. 

Please remember: The Canteen is a place to honor and entertain our troops. The Canteen is family friendly. Let's have fun!

We pray for your continued strength, to be strong in the face of adversity.

We pray for your safety, that you will return to your families and friends soon.

We pray that your hope, courage, and dignity remain unbroken, so that you may show others the way.

God Bless You All ~ Today, Tomorrow and Always

 

 

[radu]

Drat. I hoped the wind might have died down at sunset, like it does here most of the time. It was breezy all day here but it’s still as can be now.

There were two tornados in TN but neither was close to here. We had storms move in just as I was getting ready to go to bed this morning. I stayed up a little longer in hope of getting a lighting shot or two but it was all up in the clouds. Again. There was a lot of it though.
Tomorrow and Wednesday, things could get dicey.

I’ll start spending some time on the patio when the summer bugs come out. Kinda boring right now with no lightning bugs and katydids doing their things.

Ouch, Brandon Clement just got to Barnsdall, OK and it’s a mess. They got hit by a tornado several minutes ago. He’s getting out to help rescue crews any way he can.

[luvie]

I was hoping so, too. It might have now, but I’m really not in the mood for sitting outside. I don’t even have good bugs to watch. Just skeeters and other pests. LOL!

Steve just showed a picture taken by one of the Brandons...Coptic, I think...and Barnsdall was bad. I guess it missed Bartlesville. Hope so, we have friends there.

Just let Peaches out and it’s a perfect evening. Still want to stay in. I want to watch some shows. LOL! Have I said I’m totally not an outdoors person? :D

[Peter ODonnell]

Just returned from a two-week road trip to desert southwest region, highlight was seeing two condors in flight over Colorado River near Lees Ferry AZ. Such wonderful scenery (and weather) in that part of the world. I regret not moving there many years ago (if I could have become a legal immigrant) — imagine that, a legal immigrant.

Takes you back a few decades, does it not?

If anyone wanted any tips on where to visit, it’s simple, if they call it a national or state park, go take a look. And the scenery in between is just about as good.

[radu]

I don’t have a laptop so if I sit on the patio now, I’m sitting with nothing to watch or listen to. Pretty boring.

I have Brandon Copic’s stream up now because the other Brandon ended his stream. Reading chats, the reports are that the east side of Barnsdall is gone.
And Bartlesville did get hit. I thought it did based on watching the radar. How bad it was hit, I don’t know. I hope it missed your friends’ house.

At least for now, there aren’t any tornado warnings. Still a lot of severe storm warnings and they can be bad enough.

Yes, you’ve mentioned a time or two that you don’t care for the outdoors. LOL

[luvie]

Very sad for those towns. I, too, hope my friends are ok. Heck, they might not even live there anymore. Haven’t heard from them for a few years. I need to find Coptic’s stream and see if he has some new info. Watching them at night is frustrating, because it’s so hard to actually see anything.

Having the laptop with me outside is a plus. I just have to be in the mood. 😬

[E.G.C.]

A very pleasant good Tuesday morning and ((HUGS)) to everyone at the Canteen and to all our military at home and abroad. Thanks for your service to our country and thanks Lauren for this morning's thread.

We're OK folks, the storms went to the North of us. There is one out by Lawton heading this way but it's not too bad right now.

Comanche lake yesterday:

How's everyone doing this morning?

[radu]

You’ll have to type in “Copic” if you look for his stream. There’s no “t”.
I’m glad he went there to help. He’s a medic and has gear with him, and that comes in handy at times like this. Barnsdall is small and has a volunteer fire department and probably not a lot of police. They can use all the help they can get.

With luck, if your friends are still at Bartlesville, they live on the opposite of town.

[luvie]

Found him. He sounds really depressed by what he found. I hope it turns out not to be as bad as he now thinks...but probably worse.

[radu]

Howdy, E.G.C. ((HUGZ))

I’m glad you and Gizmo have missed out on the havoc in OK tonight. You do have that storm that passed Lawton that will probably send poor Gizmo under the bed for a little while. Thankfully, it isn’t too bad but it does have some gusty winds with it. Stay safe!

Looks like Gizmo had a good time at Comanche Lake yesterday. He has that smelly spot he seems to enjoy VERY much. LOL

[radu]

Yes, it was a rough night for him and everyone else who’s there to help.

[E.G.C.]

We sure did. He really enjoyed himself out there.

And yes he is under the bed right now but this storm is moving out so I’m going to see if I can coax him out (LOL)

[radu]

The storms will be over on this side of the Mississippi later today so you and Gizmo should be able to have fun at the lake and a good night’s rest afterwards.
Glad the one that just went over you was a fast-mover so Giz won’t have to stay under the bed for very long. Poor lil pooch.

[luvie]

HeyHeyHey, Early Birds!
What a great Road Trip!
Thanks for your hard work, lauren!
Love the San Francisco area.
My son was stationed at Onizuka AFB there.
Hope all y'all have a Terrific Tuesday!
Hot and sunny here. Again.
(((hugs)))